Definition: Catch

Category: Fisheries

Catches of fishery products (fish, molluscs, crustaceans and other aquatic animals, residues and aquatic plants) taken for all purposes (commercial, industrial, recreational and subsistence) by all types and classes of fishing units (fishermen, vessels, gear, etc.) operating
both in inland, fresh and brackish water areas, and in inshore, offshore and high-seas fishing areas. The production from aquaculture is excluded.

Catch is normally expressed in live weight and derived by the application of conversion factors to the landed or product weight.

As such, the catch statistics exclude quantities which are caught but which, for a variety of reasons, are not landed.